As I walked into school for freshman orientation in 2021, masked up, I was surprised to be given, along with my locker number and paper schedule, a shiny new student ID that I could use to get in and out of the building at will.
I could walk to Straubs, ask my older sister to drive me to lunch or simply do my homework in Shaw Park, and no adult would know I had left the building.
It is no secret that few things are more freeing, eye-opening and overwhelming for a student than the transition from middle school to high school.
Moving from 20-minute lunches, a phone ban and strict on-campus supervision to 75-minute lunches, unlimited device use and open campus, freshmen are faced with an endless stream of newly-found freedom.
As a freshman, I was consistently given the benefit of the doubt by my teachers. If I was late to first period? No worries. If I needed to use the restroom at the start of class? Just be quick. If I left for a while during the lecture, well, we could all use a break during class.
Yet, as my schedule grew with more and more activities, I found that my competing interests pulled me in many different directions, and my tardiness became more frequent.
I would often double or triple book myself during the long lunch, with Speech and Debate executive board meetings, class officer planning sessions or Student Council discussions, and be late to my next class, not having time to use the restroom or even eat lunch.
Whether your third legitimate meeting ran long or you simply planned poorly and the Starbucks line was too long, there were repercussions from teachers.
My time in high school has shown me that while teachers give us a significant amount of freedom compared to other schools, post-Covid, their expectations have tightened.
After years of not getting the “real” educational experience with Covid, the prevailing narrative is that if you don’t show up and show out in class, you don’t care about learning.
While I do know kids who abuse that power, I’ve personally found that student trust is swiftly on the decline despite the seeming majority utilizing their free time and freedom to work and participate in school and extracurriculars.
I understand that there are reasons behind stricter discipline, especially considering the cumulative rise in tardiness and absences. However, a major daily concern is the knowledge that teachers punish students indiscriminately, with little room for understanding.
Whether or not Clayton’s parents will try to push for the end of open campus or if teachers will make phone policies stricter, the future of student trust may be uncertain.
While I don’t know what the environment will look like in the decades to come, I hope that the high school will continue to prioritize what they always have and work to strengthen relationships between teachers and students to ensure a promising future, where we can trust students to make good choices.